Stan “The Man” Musial — R.I.P.

It’s a sad day in baseball to be sure. Hall of Famer, World Series champ and St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial has died at age 92. From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

One night after his longtime friend and teammate Red Schoendienst was honored on his upcoming 90th birthday, fellow Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial died quietly at age 92 at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at his St. Louis County home under Hospice care.

Musial’s family members who did not live here had gathered in the last day when Musial’s health had deteriorated. A family spokesman made the announcement.

Musial, who turned 92 in November, has been in declining health for the last several years, including being afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Lillian Musial, his wife of more than 70 years, had died last May 4.

Considered the greatest Cardinal of them all, Musial also likely was the most popular Cardinal of them all, continuing to make his home in St. Louis after his retirement in 1963.

Playing his entire 22-season career with the Cardinals, Musial is the franchise leader in virtually every category, including hits at 3,630, splitting them evenly at 1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road.

Selected to play in a record-tying 24 All-Star Games, Musial won seven National League batting titles.

Signed to a professional contract by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher 1938, Musial was converted into an outfielder, where he made his major league debut in 1941.

At the time of his retirement, Musial held or shared 17 major league records, 29 National League records, and nine All-Star Game records. In addition to overseeing businesses such as Stan Musial and Biggie’s restaurant, Musial served as the Cardinals’ general manager in 1967 and then quit after his team won both the National League title and World Series that year.

Musial was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Century team in 1999 and President Barack Obama presented Musial with the presidential medal of freedom, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a civilian, at the White House on Feb 15, 2011.

13 comments to Stan “The Man” Musial — R.I.P.

Pulled the anecdote below from an email from the long-lost trzupr, in which one of the lesser-known characters in the “Black Sox” years surfaced in a family discussion on that classic team:

“Just a note on Dickie Kerr. I think Ger knows this, but I’m guessing Lar does not. Dickie as a really good pitcher and a very honorable gent. He won two games in the 1919 WS (obviously took no part in the fix) and had two very good years afterward. He, Eddie Collins and catcher Ray Schalk were considered heroes for not going along with the rest of the gang.

“Comiskey refused to give him a $500 raise after his contract ran out in 1921, so Kerr said screw it and played semi-pro instead. (The reserve clause being in place at the time).

“Much later, as a minor league manager Kerr took a promising young pitcher under his wing. The kid was pretty good, but he ended up hurting his shoulder. Discouraged, the kid said he was going to quit baseball – especially since he wouldn’t have a source of income while his shoulder was healing. Kerr had recognized that the kid had some hitting talent, so he talked him into sticking with baseball and try the outfield. In order to solve the money problem, Kerr and his wife put the kid up at their own home. Many years later, after the kid had become a star in the MLB, he repaid Kerr and his wife by buying them a lavish home in Houston.

Sad, just all kinds of sad. Truly an honor to have met and spoken with The Man for a few minutes in ’98. Even played “Take Me out to the Ballgame” on the ol’ harp for me. RIP, Stan. RIP. The sky and I are crying.

These were two of the brightest stars in their respective fields — Musial’s hitting and Weaver’s managing. While Musial marched consistently through 22 stellar seasons and beyond with a smile on his face, a powerful bat and the heart of a champion, Weaver’s fiery personality and scientific mind ahead of its time often provided epic dirt-disturbing explosions on the field. Talk about opposites: Nobody played more games without an ejection than Musial with 3,026, and no American League manager had more ejections than Weaver with 97.